Jan 6-Jan 13 2019

So Tom and I packed up my mom and we headed out of New Orleans on Sunday morning. We had a 10 hour drive ahead of us and Mom B was not up for that long of a ride. We decided to stop when she pooped out, which was North of Orlando.

Tom thought the ride along the Florida panhandle was boring. We wished we could have had more time to explore Mobile, Alabama and the Naval base as well as the historic ships, but we just could not fit it into our schedule. We were amazed at the damage done to all the trees from the hurricane that went through last year. Crews were still out cutting up trees and loading up piles of debris along the freeway in Florida. We also drove through Central Florida and were amazed by the all the many lakes north of Apopka. Very beautiful area and they are busy building a new freeway across the state in that area.

We stayed overnight and had a 2 hour drive in the morning on our way to Sanford, Florida on the East side of Orlando where we picked up the Auto Train heading home. We had time to pick up some lunch at Subway before boarding the train. It was not as crowded heading North as it was traveling South. We had a very nice female train attendant that brought us our dinner and made up our beds. Unfortunately the train ride was much more jerky, and once again, Mom B did not sleep much. She kept waking up with each bump and trying to climb out of her bunk bed. But we made it back to Maryland and dropped mom off at her apartment in time for lunch. Looks like they replaced the windows in Mom's apartment while we were gone-very convenient except that they had to put the apartment back together.

Meanwhile we headed home to unpack the van and do laundry. Allison had headed back to work but was not feeling well. She came down with a very bad cold and ended up staying home the rest of the week. She missed a volunteer opportunity at a local school that she signed up for through Northrop. Maybe next time. She did manage to make it to our Girl Scout jamboree committee meeting on Sunday. I missed that meeting and a GS choir practice.  I was supposed to  attend the GS sing along the following Sunday, but bad weather was moving in and they cancelled since our parking lot was not plowed. So they rescheduled for the following weekend.

I spent part of the weekend undecorating my mom's apartment by putting away her Christmas decorations. I am glad I downsized her decorations-I did not need as many trips to the storage unit. However, I have not downsized our Christmas decorations and we have slowly started putting it all away. I was grateful to have Allison help me start putting items back up in the attic.

She was feeling well enough by the end of the week to join her friends while celebrating her college roommate's  birthday with a trip to a Cat Cafe in DC. Apparently you have to make reservations ahead of time, pay for the experience and they only accommodate a small number of guests at a time. They don't serve food, just drinks. So the group grabbed some lunch at a nearby bakery before heading in. And apparently you are not really allowed to pick up and hold the cats, except if they are lying in their beds. Then you can place the bed on your lap. Sounds a bit strange, but the cafe is working to adopt out the cats, and apparently is very successful. And Allison really enjoyed the experience. As I mentioned in a previous blog, our cat Pika passed away at 19 years during Christmas vacation. It is a strange feeling being in our house without her. I think I feel her absence the most. We knew she was not doing well, and we really felt bad for her. So we had some time to prepare for the loss. But it is strange not hearing her mew or tripping over her in the kitchen, or having her snuggle up on our legs to stay warm while we lay on the couch watching tv.  So I think Allison especially enjoyed having some cat time.

While Allison was out visiting with cats, I was visiting with my mom. I decided to take her to the mall for lunch and a little shopping. I was trying to see if there were any further Christmas deals out there, including a trip to the Hallmark store. I also needed to pick up a specialty picture frame from JCPenny for a family photo for her work desk. And it was on sale! Unfortunately, Mom B cannot walk too far and I really can not manage her scooter very well by myself(loading and unloading).  I have her use her rollator, but she really can only walk short distances, so we rest alot. But we enjoyed the day out and lunch at Chick Fil A! And I picked up my picture frame and some Channukah cards(on sale!).

On Sunday, we had our first big snow of 2019. Tom was excited to get out his snowblower. He did a terrific job clearing the driveway and sidewalks. Because of the snow, the Girl Scout Choir event was cancelled however. (Next Sunday).

And Allison was trying to catch up with some of her college friends still in school, but out on winter break. She postponed her visit to the following week.

We'd like to send out a Happy Birthday wish to Mom Seitz who celebrated her big day on January 6th, The Feast of the Epiphany and the official close of the Christmas Season and 12 Days. Happy Birthday Mom!

Jan 5, 2019 Saturday

So the biggest reason we decided to travel down South this past Christmas was to attend my neice Sarah Bozyk's wedding with my mom. Since she could not travel on her own, I needed to travel with her, and I really needed the support of the rest of the family for such a big trip. I really thought it was important that Grandma Bozyk attend her first Granddaughter's wedding. And we were all very happy to go along!

I was not going to attempt to fly since I know my parents never enjoyed taking a plane unless they really had to because of limited time or distance. And with mom's dementia, I was not taking on the added stress of going through the airport. So we decided to take the Auto train, but it only goes to Orlando. Still closer to New Orleans where the wedding was to be held. But still a 10 hour drive from Florida. (I needed Tom!). And we were traveling with my van and the trailer with mom's scooter(definitely needed Tom and Scott!).

So since we were headed to Florida, we felt compelled to visit Disney. We just had a hard time deciding which Disney park to visit. We all love DisneyWorld, but figured it would be just too busy for my mom at Christmas time. So we ended up splitting up with the kids going to DisneyWorld and Tom, Mom and I at Animal Kingdom. I think we all made a good choice. And we all enjoyed Epcot on Christmas Eve and Sea World with our yearly passes. And we had to travel down to Venice/Nokomis area to visit with Tom's family and visit the Bozyk house which is up for sale. So on our way back to New Orleans, we had to stop into Tampa and Busch Gardens since we have passes. So it was quite a trip going and coming!

On the day of the wedding, Allison and Scott were up at 3am to catch an Uber ride to the airport. Fortunately only 10 mins drive from our hotel. They had a 6am flight to Baltimore. Tom was happy with the price. Scott was flying to Baltimore with Allison, then switching planes to fly to Grand Rapids. Scott started back at school on Monday and Allison was returning to work. They had a great flight, and Allison waited with Scott until his next flight left. Then she Ubered to her car parked at the Northrop lot. She stopped in to our neighbors to pick up Cookie. They were happy to hand her over as she had developed a terrible ear infection and had to be taken to the vet.

Meanwhile, I made my mom a hair appointment Saturday morning on the day of the wedding. I enjoyed speaking to mom's hairdresser whose son was flying up to Baltimore to interview with NSA after graduating in computer programming at LSU. She had lots of questions about Baltimore!  Afterwards, we enjoyed lunch at the same restaurant, Zeas, where we met the rest of the Bozyk family for dinner on Thursday night. We even had the same waitress!  Then it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for the wedding! I got mom and I dressed while Tom got ready in his own hotel room and we were off. We were plenty early for the wedding which took place in the evening at 6:00pm.  We were not sure about parking in the city and had to unload Mom's scooter. Even though we were early, it was nice to sit in the beautiful church, speak to the wedding coordinator and her husband while watching the guests arrive. We decided to skip walking up the aisle with Mom(it was a long aisle!). Before the wedding began, we had a quick chance to speak to Sandra Bozyk's sisters. Then the music started! Sarah and Patrick had a big wedding party-9 bridesmaids and 9 groomsmen!  The girls wore blue dresses with pink shawls to match the pale pink in Sarah's beautiful wedding dress. And all the men wore white gloves and vests. Very formal. The ceremony was perfect, and then we stayed for family photos. Patrick's side has a very large family!

The bridal party headed for rental buses and Patrick and Sarah took a ride to their reception in an antique car. We loaded up mom and her scooter and headed to the plantation where the reception was being held. We had to park in the back since the bride and groom had just arrived and took a horse and carriage ride to the front door. We were coming in the back entrance when they shot off fireworks for the new married couple. The Oak Plantation had been restored into multiple rooms and dinner was served by waters/waitresses Tapas style with Gumbo, Fried shrimp, ham and roast beef, sweet potato casserole, small pizzas and so many other tasty treats we couldn't eat them all! They had a live band, open bar and a beautiful wedding cake along with mini desserts and coffee drinks. We would have loved to sit outside by the pool for a quiet place to chat with family and friends, but it was much too cold.  So we moved to the front of the house and caught up with Dave and Sandra B, as well as Christopher B. before heading out with Mom B since 11pm rolled around quickly.

We had to head out on the road on Sunday morning for the long drive with Mom back to the Orlando area to catch our train leaving on Monday afternoon.

It was a beautiful wedding and the bride and groom were heading to Costa Rica for their honeymoon. We were so happy to have attended their special event. Just wish we could have had more time to visit with family and their friends. And so happy Mom B was able to attend the event.

Also wish Allison and Scott could have joined us that evening, but they needed to get back home and to school and we did not want to have any concerns with possible bad weather. Scott took an Uber back to school from Grand Rapids and was able to pick up his books and get his laundry done before Spring Term started on Monday. This semester Scott is taking Calculus, Physics and its lab as well as 2 Engineering classes covering CAD and Intro to Manufacturing Engineering. He hit the ground running on Monday morning while Tom, Mom B and I were driving through Florida to the train station.